Fresh cut Silvertip Christmas Trees!!! These trees were cut Thanksgiving Day and are as fresh as you will find in Auburn. Raised in Sierraville they range in size from 3′ to 11′. Get them now as they will be gone soon!!

The holiday season is fast approaching and the shopping frenzy has begun. In this time of economic slowdowns why not think about a gift that will not be soon forgotten or tossed aside. Think about a gift that will give rewards for years to come and is good for the environment. Plus a gift with amazing health benefits.

Think about it, the average person gives gifts wrapped in wrapping paper, concealed in a box and often secured in that box by other material. All that material goes straight into the landfill. If you give cut flowers those flowers typically are grown using valuable resources such as water, often they are fertilized with materials that may or may not be earth friendly and once they are done they are discarded.

So what shall you give you ask? Today people are looking for practical, something that rewards them for their effort, and something that is healthy for them and the earth. A perfect solution is a dwarf citrus tree or blueberry plant. Both will thrive in our area and give rewards for years to come. Imagine your family or friends picking blueberries in the morning to make their smoothie. Or them enjoying delicious mandarins straight off their very own tree. And each time they pick that fruit they think of you. Not to mention the huge health benefits of both citrus and blueberries!

Dwarf citrus and blueberries can be grown successfully in pots or in the ground. Various varieties are available, you can choose from numerous types of lemons, limes, mandarins or want something a little different how about a kumquat or Buddha hand citron. Blueberries as well come in various varieties allowing you to enjoy the fruit at different times throughout the season.

A gift that gives for years to come, a gift that is environmentally friendly and a gift that is healthy and thoughtful, sounds to me like a great alternative to that boring fruit cake! Make this a holiday season they will remember for years to come, give a living gift this year, THINK GREEN!

Your outdoor plants have worked hard for you all summer, making your yard a place you’re proud to call home. Properly winterizing your lawn and garden is an important step toward healthy soil, lush grass, and happy plants next year.

Remember to take care of your outdoor accessories, including your lawn equipment, gardening tools, and all of your lawn and garden decor. A little time spent this autumn will make your gardening and landscaping efforts easier and more enjoyable next spring!

Let’s start with the easy jobs – First remember to store all of your lawn and garden decor including fragile planters, gazing balls, and your deck furniture. Unglazed terra cotta planters left filled with soil outside will often break in the freezing temperatures so it is best to clean them and place them in a storage area where they are protected from the elements.

Autumn is the time to find your birdfeeders and to start stocking your winter feeding pantry. Soon your many feathered friends will be flocking to your feeders for that nutritious morsel. Remember to keep your feeders full through the winter as the birds need reliable food sources through the winter months.

Now that you’ve done the easy tasks, let’s move on to the more mundane winterizing chores. Start by simply cleaning up the vegetable garden. After the first hard frost, remove the year’s annual plants and the dead vegetation. You can add this material to your compost pile, but make sure you’re not adding material from diseased or pest-infested plants. You’ll want to pull perennial weeds before you mulch your garden down for the winter.

In the yard there’s the major job of raking leaves. These are great either in the compost pile or as direct mulch on the garden. Perennial flowers may be smothered by a heavy layer of mulch, however. Also, wait to prune your trees until later in the winter.

Moving on to the mechanical tasks of winterizing your lawn and garden – While you might try to procrastinate on these jobs until spring, you’ll be well rewarded for the maintenance you perform this fall. Drain the gas from your lawnmower and string trimmer. Actually it’s best to let your mowers and trimmers simply run out of fuel. If you don’t want to ‘waste’ that little bit of fuel, add a gas conditioner before the long winter. Be sure to follow directions. Also, take the same care with your gardening equipment such as your rotary tiller.

Clean all of your landscaping equipment before you store it away for the long, cold winter. Wash with soap and water, clean the air filter, and change the oil. You’ll find that first lawn mowing job in the spring a little bit easier if you take time to sharpen the blades now. You can protect that freshly sharpened blade by applying a little spray oil to the blades. You can also apply light spray oil to other moving parts such as cables and the throttle controls.

Lastly, drain all of the water from the garden hoses and turn off the taps. Be sure to store your insecticides, herbicides, and fertilizers in a safe storage area that will not freeze. Make sure these materials are kept away from children and pets!

Also remember give your plants a good fertilizing before they go dormant or before that cold winter weather sets in. A good time release fertilizer is perfect. A little food, a good mulching and proper winterization now will pay off come spring!

Frost Protection Covers FAQ

What is Frost?

Frost is frozen water that has condensed from water vapor in the air. For frost to occur, surface temperatures must be below freezing (otherwise you would see dew, not frost). Frost forms on plants when they are colder that the dew-point temperature of the surrounding air.

What’s the difference between light frost and severe frost?

Frost is rated by how severe the layer of frost is created. The higher the dew-point temperature, the more water is in the air, and the higher the rate of frost accumulation. Light frost will damage smaller plants more than larger, established plants. Severe frost will damage and even kill most plants that are not dormant.

What Are the consequences of Frost?

The lower the temperature, the longer the exposure, and the faster the temperature drops, the greater the damage to the plant. Therefore the heaviest damage from low temperatures generally occurs in late spring, early fall, or any time cold temperatures occur after a warm winter period. Plants experience frost more than other objects because stems, leaves, and buds are very exposed to surrounding air.

What kind of damage can frost do to plants?

Common types of damage include:

death of dormant flower buds
dieback of overwintering broad-leaved plants
frost damage to tender shoots, flowers, and fruits
The effects of temperature vary with plant species, stage of growth, age, general health, and water content. Young, actively growing, flowering, and/or dehydrated plants tend to be most vulnerable. Actively growing foliage is very susceptible to frost damage. If a freeze occurs when there has been no prior cold weather to “harden off” a plant, the damage will be more extensive.

How can I harden my plants to cold?

Don’t over protect! Plants are more frost resistant if kept hardened to cold weather. Place those that have been hardened to the cold in cold spots to prevent a premature break of dormancy and early blossoms.

When should I cover my plants?

Cover plants with a frost cloth (not plastic) to insulate. A properly applied frost cloth can protect plants at temperatures down to 20° F depending on the fabric and the weave. Completely drape the plant from top all the way to the ground (or around container.) Do not allow any openings for warmth to escape. This procedure will trap the heat radiating from the soil and maintain a more humid atmosphere around the plant foliage.

Can I cover my plants with plastic?

Do not use plastic to cover plants. Plastic is a poor insulator and can harm foliage.

When should I take off the Plant Frost Protection Covers?

Remove the coverings every morning when the temperature under the covering warms to 50° F. Permanently covering plants with sheets or blankets for the duration of the winter can be harmful and is not recommended. Even if the temperature under the drape does not warm up enough to “cook” the plant, it is possible to warm up enough to cause the plant to break dormancy, begin actively growing, and thus become more susceptible to frost damage. Many of the frost cloths available may be left on for extended periods without risk of harming the plant.

Should I water plants to protect them from frost?

Yes, keep plants well watered. Frost injury occurs when ice crystals form on the leaf surface drawing moisture from the leaf tissue. The damage from this dehydration will be less severe if the plant is not already drought-stressed. It is best to keep the moisture level as even as possible.

Should I prune frost damaged plants?

Do not prune or throw away frost-damaged plants until they begin growing in the spring. Pruning might stimulate new growth which would be vulnerable to late frosts. The frost-damaged leaves and stems will continue to help trap warm air within the canopy. In addition, the damage is often not nearly as bad as it initially looked; new growth may come out of tissue that you thought was dead. Only after new growth starts in the spring should you prune out dead wood.

Which frost cover should I use?

We suggest N-SULATE a mediun weight cover made of permeable fabric. It is UV protected and reusable. We carry it in the 12′ x 10′ size which can be cut to fit your particular application.